Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology is one of the largest colleges in Ontario, Canada. Its campuses are located in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock, with additional locations in Southwestern Ontario. Offering more than 200 degree, diploma, certificate, graduate certificate and apprenticeship programs, Fanshawe has approximately 43,000 full-time, part-time and online students each year. The College attracts students from approximately 65 countries and has more than 174,000 alumni living and working around the world.

Research at Fanshawe - The Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI) is Fanshawe College’s Research Office and Industry Innovation Centre (IIC). The Centre works with industry and community partners, and with Fanshawe researchers, to develop innovative[1] research projects and programs, and serves as the College’s liaison to external funders.

The London campus was founded in 1962 as the Ontario Vocational Centre (OVC). The first classes were held September 28, 1964, and initially there were 300 students enrolled. In 1967 it became Fanshawe College, one of a province-wide system of colleges of applied arts and technology. Regional campuses were subsequently established in Woodstock, St. Thomas, and Simcoe. The origin of the word Fanshawe is old English and is a combination of two words: fane (meaning temple or building) and shaw or shawe (meaning woods). Hence “temple in the woods." The College's current logo was adopted in 2014.[2]

The original three buildings were the Main Building, the Automotive Building, and the Applied Arts Centre, which subsequently became buildings "B", "C", and "A", respectively. The "D" block was completed as an extension of the "B" building in the early 1970s, followed by "E" in 1975, "F" (with a bookstore) in 1980, and "G" in 1984. Fanshawe's library was temporarily located on the first floor of "B" building, soon moved to room A2015. In 1982, a new library was built on the north side of campus adjacent to "F" building, which is still used to this day. Numerous expansion to college facilities have taken place at the London campus since the 1990s.

Fanshawe College Presidents

Dr. James A. Colvin was named Fanshawe College's first president in 1967 and held the position until 1979. Dr. Colvin was succeeded by Mr. Harry Rawson, who served as president until his retirement in 1987. Dr. Barry Moore,Fanshawe's third president, retired in 1996. Dr. Howard Rundle, Fanshawe's longest-serving president, led the college for 18 years until his retirement on August 31, 2013. In June 2016, it was announced by the Governor General of Canada that Dr. Rundle would be appointed as a Member to the Order of Canada.[3]

The fifth President of Fanshawe College is Peter Devlin. Prior to joining Fanshawe, President Devlin served 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. He commanded from the platoon to Army level, most notably commanding 1st Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and the Canadian Army. He has several operational tours including UN, NATO and Coalition missions in Cyprus, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

He was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross[4] in 2004 as well as Orders of Military Merit[5] from the United States, Brazil and Columbia for international leadership and encouraging collaboration. President Devlin was appointed to Commander of the Canadian Order of Military Merit in 2010 and retired in August 2013 at the rank of Lieutenant General.

On February 19, 2015, President Devlin was invested into France's National Order of the Legion of Honour in recognition of his efforts to promote strong relations between the Canadian and French Armies while he was Commander of the Canadian Army.[6]

Devlin's appointment took effect September 3, 2013.

Recent News

On July 22, 2016, in Lima, Peru at the Government Palace, Fanshawe President Peter Devlin signed a partnership agreement between the College and the Armed Forces Public Technological Institute of Peru. The newly signed four-year framework agreement recognizes the two institutions' mutual intent to work together.[7]

Recent Additions to Academic Schools and Buildings

In May 2011, Fanshawe College officially opened its new Centre for Applied Transportation Technologies (CATT). The new Centre accommodates 1,500 students who are seeking jobs in trades and technologies that support the transportation industry. In addition to state-of-the-art equipment and learning tools, the 148,000-square-foot facility will feature a variety of green innovations, including a vegetated green roof occupying 48,000 square feet, storm water reclamation, solar-powered GPS tracking skylights for natural day-lighting in the shops and other environmental/sustainability initiatives and materials.

In 2013, Fanshawe College announced the establishment of the new School of Public Safety. The school was scheduled to open in September 2014 by bringing together six of Fanshawe's established public safety programs and then will use this foundation to launch 7 to 10 new program offerings by September 2015, making it one of the most comprehensive public safety programs in southwestern Ontario.

The School of Public Safety moves into its new 31,000 sq. ft. location in September 2016. The building houses a 3,000 sq. ft. paramedic lab that is one of the largest and most up-to-date in the province. The lab houses six full ambulance mockups and a simulation room. The School also has a 14,000 sq. ft. fully equipped physical occupational readiness training and assessment facility and a 2,300 sq. ft. state-of-the-art fitness lab. The new Hexagon Public Safety lab is a state-of-the-industry communication centre, equipped with the latest computer aided dispatch and records management software for use by police, law enforcement and emergency management students, as well as students preparing to be EMS, police and fire dispatchers. Additionally, there are two new classrooms, a dual purpose control room/meeting room and garage space to house emergency management vehicles and vehicles used for student driving experiences.

In June 2016, Fanshawe opened its new Canadian Centre for Product Validation (CCPV). This 25,000 square foot, multi-modal developmental test facility conducts electrical, mechanical, performance, environmental and thermal testing under one roof. Such a facility does not exist elsewhere in Canada. In addition to product validation activities, CCPV offers services not typically offered by existing test labs, such as marketing and benchmarking studies; the creation of proprietary test protocols based on actual field usage and analysis of critical interfaces within a product; as well as commercialization activities.[8]

Norton Wolf School of Aviation Technology - In August 2013, Fanshawe College announced that it purchased the facilities formerly owned by Jazz Aviation at the London International Airport. This purchase has allowed the College to create a permanent home for its aviation programming with facilities that match the real world industry environment.[9]

On May 26, 2016, the family of the late Norton Wolf pledged their support to Fansahwe College by announcing the naming of the School of Aviation Technology to the Norton Wolf School of Aviation Technology. Mr. Wolf was an avid pilot with a tremendous love of flying.[10]

Fanshawe’s Centre for Digital and Performance Arts - The 50,000-square-foot building opened in January 2014 and offers 400 students state-of-the-art facilities with immediate access to arts, entertainment, parks, shopping and more. Located in the heart of downtown London, the Centre for Digital and Performance Arts is home to a number of Fanshawe’s creative programs, such as 3D Animation and Character Design, Interactive Media Design and Production, Technical Costume Studies and Theatre Arts. In 2014, Fanshawe announced that it would purchase the building of the recently closed Kingsmill's Department Store across the street for expansion of this campus.[11] The new Downtown Phase II building, opening in 2018, will provide a dynamic six-storey learning centre for tourism, hospitality and IT programs.[12]

Donald J. Smith School of Building Technology On Monday, April 27, 2015, the family of the late Don Smith pledged their support of Fanshawe College by naming the School of Building Technology the Donald J. Smith School of Building Technology. Don Smith, co-founder of EllisDon died in 2013.[13] Don was always a strong supporter of Fanshawe College and was the first recipient of a Fanshawe College honorary diploma in 1992. In 2008, Fanshawe presented his wife, Joan, with an honorary diploma.[14]

Rebranding

On April 2, 2014, Fanshawe College unveiled its new visual identity and brand promise. Fanshawe president Peter Devlin stated that the new brand "focusses on Fanshawe's desire to help students reach their full potential." The rebranding process took place during the summer of 2013 where the input of over 6000 current students, staff, alumni, guidance counsellors, business and academic leaders, government and community partners was used to determine the new brand. The College named its new logo NorthStar because of its visual and symbolic link to the star famous for helping generations of travellers find their way. In an online survey, NorthStar was preferred two to one over all other concepts indicated in surveys, including the then current logo. Survey respondents described it as being bold, innovative and distinctive.[2][15]

Fanshawe College joined the Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) in 1967 as one of the six founding members. The Falcons currently compete in 14 varsity sports, with 19 teams including: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor soccer, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s badminton, men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s baseball, women’s softball and men’s and women’s and mixed curling.

Many of Fanshawe’s varsity programs excel not only in the OCAA but also the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA). As of 2015, the Falcons have a total of 14 national championships, 85 provincial championships and a total of 263 medals.

On Sunday, January 18, 2015, Fanshawe Athletics proudly unveiled their new Falcons logo. The logo represents several characteristics of a falcon, including the beak shape, eye size and overall proportions. It was chosen from an online survey of Fanshawe students, alumni and staff.[16]

Additionally, Fanshawe has one of the largest campus recreation programs in Ontario with over 4500 students participating in intramurals, extramurals and open recreation every year.[17]

Fanshawe's campus in London, Ontario, Canada covers 100 acres (40 ha) and has twenty-three buildings, including nearly 1200 apartment-style residence rooms and close to 400 townhouse rooms at its London campus. The London Campus also includes the Centre for Applied Transportation Technology (CATT), the Centre for Digital and Performance Arts (CDPA) and the Fanshawe Aviation Centre. The London campus has been described as "one of the largest in Ontario" and as a "city within a city".[18]http://www.fanshawec.ca/london

The St. Thomas/Elgin Regional Campus, located in the south-east end of St. Thomas, Ontario, is home to approximately 350 full-time students and 2,000 part-time students. The Campus offers certificate and diploma programs, academic upgrading, apprenticeships, continuing education, corporate training, and career and employment services in a high-tech learning environment with small class sizes.[20]

Located in Woodstock, Ontario, Fanshawe's Woodstock/Oxford Regional Campuses is situated on 50 acres of beautifully landscaped property that is conveniently located at the forks of Highways 401 and 403. The Campus is part of the Woodstock District Community Complex,[21] which also houses Goff Community Hall, a gymnastics centre, two arenas, a figure skating club and food services. The Campus offers certificate and diploma programs, continuing education, academic upgrading and apprenticeship opportunities. The Campus prides itself on providing training that meets the local employment needs of the community.[22]

Fanshawe has been in the central Huron area, north of London, since approximately 2007 and has seen tremendous growth during that time. Welcoming full-time, part-time and dual-credit students in a number of diploma programs, certificates and community-interest courses, Fanshawe is proud to be a contributor to the economic growth and sustainability of the region.[23]

Fanshawe College has more than 200 full-time post-secondary and graduate studies programs, as well as apprentice, academic upgrading and adult training programs. Many post-secondary programs have a co-operative education component. Academic Schools:

Fanshawe has nearly 1200 apartment-style residence rooms and close to 400 townhouse rooms located at its London Campus. The College offers two housing choices: traditional residence suites and townhouse units.

Traditional residence suites – located on College property. There are three separate, air conditioned, non-smoking buildings:

Falcon House – opened in 2003

Peregrine House – opened in 2007

Merlin House – opened in 2009

Each building has 415 suites with each suite housing four people. All rooms include cable, telephone and internet connection. There is on-site management and 24-hour-a-day front desk staff, controlled access entry and 24-hour surveillance in all common areas. In addition to individual suites, residence common areas include activity lounges with pool tables, ping pong, foosball and shuffle board; common kitchens with stove top and oven; movie lounge with big screen TV and surround sound and study lounges for individual or group study. Residences are able to meet the needs of students with physical disabilities by providing barrier free suites.

Townhouse units – “Kestrel Court” offers students fully furnished, non-smoking townhouse units. On-site staff is available 24/7 to assist students. Each townhouse unit has six bedroom suites with cable and internet in each bedroom, full-size kitchen and main floor living room. Laundry facilities are provided in one location at the townhouse complex. Parking is available at extra cost.

The Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) is a student representative body, designed to meet the various needs and expectations of students attending Fanshawe College. The FSU is a member of the College Student Alliance (CSA). The CSA is a member-driven advocacy and student leadership organization which proudly serves Ontario’s college and college-university students.

The FSU has had a student newspaper since its inception, first known as Fanfare, changing to The Dam in 1971. It has been known as The Interrobang since approximately 1979 and is Fanshawe’s only student newspaper. It is published weekly from September to April and distributed on-campus free of charge throughout Fanshawe College. The Interrobang, is a member of Canadian University Press (CUP).